ABSTRACT
Attention is the process by which certain information is selected for further processing and other information is discarded. In general, when an object or perceptual feature is attended there is an increased activity, measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging, in brain regions that are involved in perceiving those stimuli relative to when they are unattended. Feature integration theory (FIT) is a model of how attention selects perceptual objects and binds different features of those objects into a reportable experience. According to FIT, perceptual features such as color and shape are coded in parallel and prior to attention. Brain regions containing neurons with small receptive fields are only disrupted by competitors that are close by, but regions that have larger receptive fields are also disrupted by more distant competitors. The main clinical features of neglect tend to relate to egocentric space and it is these kinds of spatial attentional disorders that are linked to brain damage to the right temporoparietal region.
